The Sound of Silence…is Scary

There’s silence in my mind.

In most cases, this is considered a good thing.  Having spent time working in an acute psychotic ward of a psychiatric hospital, I know all about how the voices in people’s heads can often be signs of psychosis and delusion.

But in writers this is something else altogether.

Not necessarily all writers.  My crit partner Susan prefers quiet in her head.  Be me…the fact that no one is actively talking to me in my brain is a sign that something is…off.  Definitely a sign I need to refill the well (more on that in a minute).  There are always characters talking to me.  Maybe not the ones I’m supposed to be working with, but SOMEONE.  It’s why I seem to constantly be opening new blueprints for Sexy Next Books and making notes.

Right now, there’s…nothing.

I had my entire, albeit short, commute to work in total silence. (And yeah, I’m writing this on Friday even though you’re reading it on Saturday).

DUDE, that is FREAKY.

It hasn’t been going on long enough to send me into deeply disturbed about the issue.  Yet.

I need to finish organizing my blog tour and such for Red.  Get the business out of the way to clear the path for more creative pursuits.  And, as I said, I need to refill the well.  Which is kind of a problem lately.  Everything I touch to read, I put down again.  Nothing is snagging my attention at all.

Taking a browse through Goodreads, I can see that 20 of the 26 books I’ve read so far this year were YA.  On my 60 book TBR list there?  Only 4 are not YA. I didn’t even go back to look at last year’s reads.

I may need an intervention.

It’s like…I’m hungry but I have no idea what I want.  There’s nothing in me screaming, I want paranormal!  I want cozy mystery!  I want romantic suspense!

It’s just…silence.

So tell me, readers, what have you read lately that isn’t YA that was awesome?  I need book recs.

21 thoughts on “The Sound of Silence…is Scary

  1. Aine Greaneys Dance Lessons is a wonderful book about a woman who finds that her deceased husband lied about his mother in Ireland being dead, and the journey of forgiveness that ensues.

    Jim Butcher’s Dresden Series about a wizard living in Chicago is wonderful; his latest of 13 in the series is just out; he just keeps getting better. His Codex Alera Series (6 books) is about a world where people can control various elemental beings of fire, earth, wind, and water.

    That’s all I’ve been able to fit in lately, but they are very good reads.

  2. I read these last year, but I recommend Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, both by Lisa See. She has a new book out, Dreams of Joy, which made me think of her. Excellent, excellent writing!
    My sister really enjoyed The Help (I haven’t read it yet, though.)
    More non-YA books I read recently were Laurell K Hamilton’s Hit List and Justin Cronin’s The Passage. The version of the Passage I read had 844 pages, so that should count for 3 books!

  3. In a shameless plug I recomment my novel Highway to Hell, but on a less selfish note I am reading an epic fantasy tale Tarranau by James Tallett. I am only about 15% of the way through but it is amazing. The details and description really put you there.

  4. This week I have read a History of the Comanche Nation ( Empire of the Summer Moon ), The new Kitty Norville book ( Kitty’s Big Trouble which borrows a lot from the Kurt Russel movie Big Trouble in Little China ) and I am re-reading Feed and Dead Line by Mira Grant I think these are two of the best books i have ever read. Rereading Feed was a harrowing experince I wanted to protect the characters from what I knew was going to happen to them. i cried four times while reading Feed.

  5. So my YA recommendation last night on Twitter didn’t help, LOL

    I haven’t been reading as much as usual lately. Have you read Maria Zannini’s “The Devil to Pay” yet?

    Other recent reads (no particular order & some better than others):
    Demon’s Fall by Karalynn Lee
    The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale by Catherine Bell
    Golden by Joely Sue Burkhart (releases on the 29th)
    Stolen Dreams (The Lingering Spirit Series) by Stacey Kennedy (I think it’s been pulled though because it’s now under contract)
    The Vampire, the Witch, and the Werewolf by Louisa Bucio
    Jane Jameson series by Molly Harper
    Dragon Kin series by GA Aiken
    Chess Putnam series by Stacia Kane

    Happy reading 🙂

  6. I don’t know if you have read this or not because it is not a new book, but the title is “Frost Moon” by Anthony Francis. It is a UF that has a whole host of interesting characters in a very unusual world. I bought his book back when it first came out and read it and loved it and then it went into the recesses of my brain. Yesterday I noted it was offered for free on Kindle, I am guessing in promotion of the new book in the series. The main character is Dakota Frost who is a magical tattoo artist who must find out who is after the magic in the tattoos and sets out to save the day. I tell you the journey with these unusual characters is definitely worth the time of taking the ride, furthermore, what could be better than an incredibly awesome read that is now offered for free to boot. It is definitely not YA and it is edgy. This is a world I would like to visit 🙂

  7. I am working my way through Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter books — definitely *not* YA! (Except for “Chronicles of Nick.”) I have even reread some of them as I have gone along, to keep the threads in mind. Loving them!

    1. And Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” books are wonderful, too. They are quite long, and very intense, so I have to take a break in between reading them, but they are wonderful.

  8. I dove into a reread of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. The first two books weren’t as fantastic as I remembered but after that, they have been sweeping me away. Thank goodness for ereaders, though. These books are huge!

    I also recommend Vicki Pettersson’s Signs of the Zodiac series. Paranormal, yes, but more in a gritty superhero Gotham meets Vegas kind of way. I can’t help but just read these books instead of finding my inner editor weighing the writing.

  9. Lois McMaster Bujold has several very intriguing series. Same for David Weber. (both SF)

    For mystery, I like Aaron Elkins and Dana Stabanow. For romance, Linda Howard (Open Season is my favorite) and Jayne Ann Krentz (who writes under several pen names).

    Sounds like you need a vacation.

  10. I wonder if the silence in your head is because you worked so hard on Red that it took a lot out of you. Maybe you just need to regroup. Red is one of the few books I’ve read that the characters stayed with me long after I finished reading. Writing a book that intense, while enjoyable, can be exhausting, even if you don’t realize it.

    Sometimes I have to take a break from paranormal romance. Recently, I read Office Politics and The Secret Dreams of Sarah-Jane Quinn, both by Sharon Gerlach. Have you read those?

    When I REALLY want to get away from the romance genre, I usually pick up an “agent Pendergast” novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. If I’m not mistaken, those are also some of Andrew’s favorite books.

  11. Try something funny. Non-fictiony. I love Laurie Notaro’s books. Start with ‘The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club’.

    Any of the Sweet Potato Queens books also lift my mood. Plus they have fab recipes!

    Also love the “Agent Pendergast” novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child that Lauralynn mentioned (I feel smarter after I read them – even though I always have to look up at least 2 words in every book) but they are a heavy read.

  12. I always like to hear someone say:
    “Get the business out of the way to clear the path for more creative pursuits.”

    The word creative fills the imagination with endless inspiration!

  13. Lindsay Buroker’s Emperor’s Edge, and the sequel, Dark Currents. They are both feel-good to me, despite having deaths, mayhem and an assassin as a focus character. The genre is epic fantasy with a touch of steampunk. Think the A-team in a victorian fantasy world.

    I also rather liked the Blood Singer trilogy from Cat Adams (once you get past the slighly predictable and not-quite-at-ease-with-the-voice point of view of the first book). It’s paranomal fantasy with a dash of lust and a cup of action.

    Here’s hoping the silence becomes a cacophony soon. I’m not a fan of the quiet. It prompts me to buy more music, dvds and books than anyone I know :p

  14. I’d recommend any of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett – very, very funny, but they’re stories with depth to them too.
    The Help by Kathryn Stockett
    Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood by Holly Lisle (SF)
    The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. I’m not sure this is YA even though the characters are teenagers. It’s quite dark. (SF/Fantasy, a sort of Tom Sawyer meets Battlestar Galactica ambience)
    The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier, and I particularly enjoyed Daughter of the Forest, the first in the series. And she’s also written the Bridei Chronicles which is an excellent read.
    The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson was a riveting read, too, but pretty dark at times.
    The Wideacre novels by Philippa Gregory are excellent. (Historical.)

    Being silent and quiet can be quite scary, but stick with it… there might be a small voice whispering in there somewhere! 🙂

  15. Lol, loved your post Kait, andI can imagine that for authors not having/hearing that inner dialogue between characters can be scary.

    I’m pretty sure you already know Rachel Vincent’s Shifters series, but I just got around to read it , and it is mindblowingly great! 😀 lol Also her latest novel Blood Bound will be released tomorrow, and I hear it is awesome.

    Have you read Gini Koch’s Alien series? If you want pee-your-pants-you’re-laughing-so-hard kind of funny books, these are it! They are also romantic and full of action and sarcasm 😀

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